It seems decided by default that there will be no American military presence in Iraq after December 31st. That’s what Libertarians wanted. I am waiting to hear them celebrate their victory. I, for one thing it’s bad for the US and for the preservation of democracy. The Middle-East remains a bad neighborhood. It’s useful to have military platforms there, even with few troops to guard them. The new situation will be bad for Iraq too, much worse, in fact. For another thing, that large country still does not have an air force. Saddam ordered it to Iran in 2003. The Iranians never returned the planes. No kidding! The Kuwaitis next door do have a small but modern air force. I wonder if the Kuwaitis, remembering the 1990s, will try to take over Iraq from the air. And, of course, the democratic (genuinely democratic) Iraqi government we erected at great American cost will soon have no choice. They will be forced by the large well-armed religious madman next door to ask, “How high?”